Broadway To Vegas
SHOW REVIEWS CELEBRITY INTERVIEWS GOSSIP NEWS
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Copyright: March 11, 2001
By: Laura Deni
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JULIE ANDREWS HOPING TO SING
AGAIN
In just a few weeks Julie Andrews is slated to meet with two medical specialists to discuss the
possibility of undergoing new treatments which might restore her singing voice, divulged
Robert Goulet.
JULIE ANDREWS hopes to sing
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Andrews and Goulet co-starred in Camelot. During the PBS airing of My Favorite
Broadway The Love Songs Goulet made an appearance at the Las Vegas affiliate to
encouraging pledges and adding color commentary to the special, which was taped during a
performance at Lincoln Center, New York City.
Goulet told the audience that, during the October 16th taping, Andrews confided in him
that this spring she was set to meet with medical experts who had hopes of restoring her voice.
Goulet said that would be taking place in a few weeks.
Andrews sustained damage to her vocal chords during throat surgery in 1997. Since then she has
not been able to sing except for the few notes she attempted during that special. According to
Goulet she really wasn't singing but - talking in a musical style.
As for Goulet, he's off to Los Angeles for a March 13-14 shoot of Two Guys And
A Girl for ABC television. That has an April air date.
INNOVATORS AND
NAVIGATORS
Peter Jennings
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Talk magazine has a list of VIPs who are coming to Santa Barbara March 13-15 for the
Talk/PaineWebber Innovators and Navigators conference.
The list of people expected to jabber on ought to qualify for the Guinness Book of World
Records.
Christiane Amanpour, Joe Armstrong, Peter Arnell, Michael Bloomberg, Marcy Carsey, Barry
Diller, Michael Eisner, Ari Emanuel, Susan Estrich, Tom Friedman,Tom Freston, David Frost,
Henry Louis Gates, Arne Glimcher, Rudy Giuliani,Charles Gwathmey, Bill Haseltine, William
Randolph HearstIII, Don Hewitt, Kevin Huvane, Arianna Huffington, Bob Iger, Mort Janklow,
Peter Jennings, Donald Marron, Larry Martin, Mark McKinnon, Tom Middlehoff, Georgette
Mosbacher, Peter Osnos, George Pataki, Queen Noor, Mitch Rosenthal, David Schneiderman,
Karenna Gore Schiff, John Silber, Judge Leslie Crocker Snyder, Lesley Stahl, George
Stephanopoulos, David Westin, Lally Weymouth, Naomi Wolf, George Weidenfeld, Harvey
Weinstein, Jack Welch, Mort Zuckerman, - and that's only a partial list.
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BLARNEY, JOKES, AND
BLESSINGS
Is fear rith maith n drochsheasamh is Irish for A good run is better than a bad stand.
New York has the largest St Patrick' s Day parade. Held since 1762, the New York City parade
draws more than one million spectators each year.
Meanwhile, the city of Chicago has developed a unique tradition of coloring the river water
green It started in 1962 when 100 pounds of green vegetable dye were added to its river, enough
to keep it green for a week. Tradition continues although now 40 pounds of a green
food coloring keep the river green for only a few hours.
If one is suppose to be the loneliest number, three is Ireland's magic number. Hence the
Shamrock. Crone, Mother and Virgin. Love, Valour and Wit. Faith, Hope and Charity. Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. Numbers played an important role in Celtic symbolism. Three was the most
sacred and magical number. It multiplies to nine, which is sacred to St. Brigit. Three may have
signified totality: past, present and future - or - behind, before and here - or - sky, earth and
underworld.
Everything good in Ireland comes in threes. The rhythm of story telling in the Irish tradition is
based on threefold repetition. This achieves both intensification and exaggeration. Even today in
quality pub talk, a raconteur can rarely resist a third adjective, especially if it means stretching a
point. "Three accomplishments well regarded in Ireland: a clever verse, music on the harp, the
art of shaving faces."
The Leprechaun is an Irish fairy. He looks like a small, old man about 2 feet tall, often dressed
like a shoemaker, with a cocked hat and a leather apron. According to legend, leprechauns are
aloof and unfriendly, live alone, and pass the time making shoes. They also possess a hidden pot
of gold. Treasure hunters can often track down a leprechaun by the sound of his shoemaker's
hammer. If caught, he can be forced (with the threat of bodily violence) to reveal the
whereabouts of his treasure, but the captor must keep their eyes on him every second. If
the captor's eyes leave the leprechaun - and he often tricks them into looking away - he vanishes
and all hopes of finding the treasure are lost.
The Blarney Stone is a stone set in the wall of the Blarney Castle tower in the Irish village of
Blarney. Kissing the stone is supposed to bring the kisser the gift of persuasive eloquence -
blarney. The castle was built in 1446 by Cormac Laidhiv McCarthy - Lord of Muskerry. Its
walls are 18 feet thick, necessary to thwart attacks by Cromwellians and William III's troops.
Thousands of tourists a year still visit the castle. The origins of the Blarney Stone's magical
properties aren't clear, but one legend says that an old woman cast a spell on the stone to reward
a king who had saved her from drowning. Kissing the stone while under the spell gave the king
the ability to speak sweetly and convincingly. It's tough to reach the stone -- it's between the
main castle wall and the parapet. Kissers have to stretch to their back and bend both backward
and downward, holding iron bars for support.
Jokes and stories are part of Irish DNA.
Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to jump off. How many are left? Answer: five.
Why? Because there's a difference between deciding & doing.
A young gentleman sitting at a bar with his pet pig asks for a couple of drinks. The confused
bartender said no animals were allowed at the bar. The man proceeded to say "Ah, but this is a
very special pig. Just last week there was a fire in the house and that pig came charging out of
his pen into the house and woke us all up. Then a few days later my son fell into the pool and
that pig was grazing out on the lawn, and he came running and jumped into the pool and saved
my son."
"Well," said the bartender "I guess this pig is very special so I'll get him a drink. By
the way I noticed that he is missing one leg, what happened?"
"Well," said the young man, "when you got a pig this good you don't eat him all at once
!!!"
If the Irish are noted for their blarney they are revered for their blessings.
May you always have: Walls for the winds, A roof for the rain, Tea beside the fire, Laughter to
cheer you, Those you love near you, And all your heart might desire!
As you slide down the banister of life, May the splinters never point in the wrong
direction!
'Tis better to buy a small bouquet And give to your friend this very day, Than a bushel of roses
white and red To lay on his coffin after he's dead.
May the best day of your past be the worst day of your future.
May those who love us, love us And those who don't love us, May God turn their hearts. And if
he can't turn their hearts, May he turn their ankles So we will know them by their
limping!
God is good, but never dance in a small boat.
Go mbeannai Dia duit (May God Bless You)
THE SOUND OF MUSIC starring
Barry Williams as Capt Von Trapp closes tonight in Omaha at the Orpheum and then heads to
Reno, NV for a March 14 - 17 engagement at the Pioneer Center. Williams, familiar to
television viewers as Greg Brady on the long-running sitcom The Brady Bunch, has been
in this national tour for the past seven months.
BARRY WILLIAMS as Capt Von Trapp
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Williams is no stranger to musicals, having appeared on Broadway in Romance/Romance
and Pippin and toured in productions such as City of Angels.
Williams is also no stranger to controversy, since this tour has been wrought with a legal battle
since Williams donned his Von Trapp outfit.
On Jan 16 Williams was fined $50,000 by the Equity union for appearing in this non-Equity
tour of The Sound of Music. The fine is believed to be the largest ever leveled at a
performer, and is meant as a warning to other Equity members that the union will no longer
tolerate their participation in non-Equity shows.
Actors' Equity Association is the labor union representing over 40,000 American actors and stage
managers working in the professional theatre. For 88 years, Equity has negotiated minimum
wages and working conditions, administered contracts, and enforced the provisions of their
various agreements with theatrical employers across the country.
"We think Williams, for his own benefit, has turned his back on what the union stands for and
what the union has accomplished," Alan Eisenberg, Equity's executive director said in a
statement."It is heinous."
Williams responded by calling himself a "pawn" in a large scale battle between Equity and the
producers of non-union tours. "Mr. Eisenberg has very colorful language, but I am disappointed
he has taken that view. I am not anti-union and I am certainly not trying to bust the union's goals.
Equity is involved in a complex dialogue with the producers of non-union shows and I am being
leveraged for that purpose, in an unfair manner."
Eisenberg denied Williams was being singled out because of his celebrity. "We intend to do this
to any member who takes part in a non union production, regardless of whether they are famous
or not," he said.
The dispute between Equity and Williams has been simmering since the summer, when the actor
signed on to play Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music tour for Troika
Productions.
Troika specializes in producing shows whose casts are made up of non-union performers. The
actors are paid about $400 a week, a far cry from the $1,200 a week minimum
salary for an Equity member.
Williams is said to be earning $15,000 a week in the show. Officially, union members are barred
from taking part in non-union productions, though in fact Equity has long turned a blind eye to
the issue, since acting jobs, union or not, are difficult to come by. The union is putting its foot
down now for two reasons: non-union tours are becoming more prevalent i.e. a non-Equity
Cats tour will purr down the road this summer; and, producers are starting to
recruit television and movie names who, although perhaps not noted for theatre work, sell
tickets.
EDDIE MEKKA and CINDY WILLIAMS at the
opening of Grease in Las Vegas. Photo By: Laura Deni
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Laverne and Shirley stars Cindy Williams and Las Vegas resident Eddie Mekka also
faced the wrath of Equity for appearing in a non-union tour of Grease.
Barry Williams said he should not be subject to Equity's fine because he resigned from the union
before joining The Sound of Music.
But the union believes he can still be disciplined because he began negotiating for the job while he
was still a member. Williams says he will appeal the $50,000 fine. "I look forward at some point
to reaching an understanding with Equity," he said.
Ironically in 1961 Williams' "mother" on The Brady Bunch Florence Henderson was
Maria in the first national tour.
Williams credits Henderson for encouraging his musical theatre efforts. "There's been some stuff
made of the 'date' that she and I went out on," he said. "And that was the purpose of that date. I
knew I wanted to do musical theater, and I wanted to learn more about it, and that was the bulk
of our conversation." So, the date was really business meeting?
CABARET March 20-25 in
Tampa, FL at the Tampa Bay PAC
MAMMA MIA! - the infectious
musical built around the pop hits of ABBA continues at the Shubert Theatre, Los Angeles. The
show, a smash in London, Toronto and now America, with disco hits like Dancing Queen
and Super Trouper charmingly entwined into a simple plot about a young girl in search of
her real father.
WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? by Edward Albee. Directed by David Esbjornson with Mercedes Ruehl,
Patrick Stewart, Carrie Preston and Bill McCallum. The Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, MN
through April 1.
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT a
Gospel play starring Judge Greg Mathis & Fred Hammond with Radical For Christ,
will be at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, NYC March 20-March 25
SALTZBURG MARIONETTE THEATRE
March 17-19 Orange County Performing Arts Center presents in
Segerstrom Hall Salzburg Marionette Theatre Audiences will delight as the music of Mozart
comes to life via the worldly troupe of marionettes from Salzburg, Austria. Founded in 1943 by
sculptor Anton Aicher, the Salzburg Marionette Theatre has traveled the world performing to the
music of some of the world's greatest operas. The life-like puppets will perform The Marriage of
Figaro on March 17, Don Giovanni on March 18 and close their Center appearances with The
Magic Flute on March 19.
THE MUSIC OF BILLY STRAYHORN performed by Darius de Haas. This Broadway star who shined in Marie
Christine, Carousel, and Rent brings Strayhorn standards such as Lush Life, Satin
Doll, and Take the A Train to life. March 22, 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Lincoln Center,
NYC.
CATHY RIGBY AND AARON CARTER the 13-year old little brother of the Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter, will join
the Broadway musical Seussical for five weeks beginning May 6. He'll play JoJo, the
littlest Who. Rigby, who has been on tour in Peter Pan, will bring a new dimension to the
role of the Cat thanks to her considerable acrobatic and dance skills. She scampers on board
March 15.
STORM has its world premiere at
Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas on March 22. Expect Ricky Martin to attend. His management is
behind this new production which incorporates weather elements, including the gentle dusting of
patrons with artificial snow.
WHO'S WHERE
MERLE HAGGARD
MERLE HAGGARD
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the country
artist performs tonight at the Peppermill in Reno, NV. Haggard, the only California born
singer in the Country Music Hall of Fame; and the only artist who's done stints both as an invited
entertainer at the White House and in San Quentin's infamous solitary confinement "hole" wants
to run the risk of adding an assault charge to his list of credits by pasting one on Mike Curb, the
founder of Curb records. Haggard is serious. "I've challenged him to a public boxing match,
but he won't come out," Haggard tells anyone who would like to listen. "He's too big a coward."
The fisticuffs challenge has to do with money - $200,000 in cash to be exact. He also claims
Curb used Haggard's name to lure young artists such as Tim McGraw and LeAnn Rimes to his
little California-based label and then sabotaged his career by not promoting his records and
intentionally putting them in ugly packaging. "He tried to kill my career any way he could,"
Haggard charges.
MICKEY ROONEY performs March
17 at The Peppermill, Reno, NV.
SALLY KELLERMAN and musical
conductor Michael Orlando end a four-night engagement at Founders Hall Orange Country
Performing Arts Center, CA this evening. Kellerman has made more than 60 movies, but is best
remembered as Hot Lips from the movie MASH. The multi-talented performer's cabaret
act received rave reviews.
ALL-STAR TRIBUTE TO BRIAN WILSON at Radio City Music Hall. On Thursday, March 29, Sir Elton John, Ann
and Nancy Wilson from Heart and Sir George Martin will be part of the all-star cast coming
together to honor the legendary composer, arranger and producer in a one-time only event. This
special concert will be taped for future broadcast on TNT.
SARAH BRIGHTMAN March 12 in
St Louis; March 13 in Chicago, March, 14, in Madison, March 16 East Lansing, March 17,
Detroit and March 18 is Milwaukee.
BACKSTREET BOYS performed
last night in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden. Then they're on to Phoenix, AZ for a show
March 12 in the America West Arena.
LINDA EDER at the Thomasville
Cultural Center in Thomasville, GA on March 17.
BETTY BUCKLEY
tonight and tomorrow night at the Geary Theater in San Francisco, CA. Then it's a flight across
country for a March 16-17 engagement at the Bottom Line in New York, NY
MAUREEN McGOVERN March 13 at
the Emens Auditorium -- Ball state University in Muncie, IN March 14 at the Wharton Center in
East Lansing, MI March 16 - 17 at Yardly Hall - Johnson County Community College in
Overland Park, KS
CLEO LAINE March 16 - Medford,
OR - Criterion Theatre
GLADYS KNIGHT March 24
Tallahassee, FL Leon Co. Civic Ctr.
JOHNNY MATHIS entertains at
the Memorial Coliseum in FT. Wayne, IN on March 29. His new CD Mathis on
Broadway on Columbia features hit songs from recent Broadway shows, including Stephen
Sondheim's ballad Loving You from Passion; and a combination of Children
Will Listen from Into the Woods and Our Children from Ragtime, sung
with Betty Buckley.
MATCHBOX TWENTY tomorrow
take center stage in Wilkes-Barre, PA at the First Union Arena. On March 13 it's Buffalo, NY
HSBC Arena. Thursday finds the group in Worcester, MA at The Centrum. On March 16 they
perform in New York, NY at Madison Square Garden and on Saturday they do it again in
Camden, NJ at the Blockbuster - Sony E Center.
FRANK SINATRA, JR brought his
show As I Remember It, to Abravanel Hall, Salt Lake City, UT this week-end. Backed
by the Utah Symphony under the baton of the orchestra's assistant conductor Kory Katseanes,
Sinatra presented a program devoted to his late father, Frank Sinatra. The younger Sinatra
released his CD As I Remember It on Angel Records in 1996. His stage program is
based on that CD, offering delicious music made famous by Ol' Blue Eyes, interspersed with
personal insight into his father's legendary career.
RONAN TYNAN at the North Shore
Music Theater, approximately 25 miles from Boston March 17, and Sunday March
18th.
THIS AND THAT
ROB REINER was presented the
Career Achievement Award at the 16th Santa Barbara (CA) International Film Festival. Albert
Brooks made the presentation.
CHOCOLATE COVERED GUMME BEARS Some might think it interesting or downright sad that during the ShoWest
convention in Las Vegas Russell Crowe had to be surrounded five deep with assorted security
because of kidnap threats against him. Members of the press were covering the security that
covered Crowe.
The real buzz around ShoWest wasn't the stars but an item - something that theatre owners were
chortling over - a product they claim will turn a tidy profit - chocolate covered gumme bears.
Mention BROADWAY TO VEGAS for Special Consideration
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Next Column: March 18, 2001
Copyright: March 11, 2001. All Rights Reserved. Reviews,
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